The Curse, inspired by the book
by Poison-your-poison
Summary: Ron is clumsy & v unlucky, but it has nothing to do with an awkward teenstage. It's because of a curse on his family, pronounced in the middle ages. Hermione knows and helps Ron acknowledge his powers and go back in time, to stop it all from happening.
1. Chapter 1

The curse, inspired by the book by Marianne Curley (DON'T OWN THAT EITHER)

Summary: Ron is clumsy – what else is new? – but his clumsiness and misfortunes have nothing to do with the awkward stage most teenagers have to go through. It's not a rite of passage, yet an effect of a curse on his family, pronounced in the middle ages. Hermione notices this and tries to help him, and to make him aware of the powers he has also inherited…and use them to go back in time, and stop it all from happening. AU.

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Chapter one.

**Ron –**

He grimaced at the sharp pain that cut through his calves and tried to drown out the laughing of the rest of the class. He'd done it again.

Brilliant first impression he was making in yet another high school that he was shoved into – the fifth in as many years. His father had, once again, lost his job and his mom had gotten sick and they'd needed to 'move to a healthier climate' so she could rest and heal. He'd laughed aloud when they'd sat in the doctor's office. Rest and heal…right. Until something else would come along and their family would once again go down with a bang. Sure, it had been a _bit_ distasteful to laugh, but what else was there to do?

Right, back to the problem he was facing now : a room full of bellowing blokes and giggling girls. All except one…a bushy haired girl was looking at him with sympathetic eyes from the back row, a bit isolated, it seemed, and she gave him a weak smile before turning back to her biology book that lay open on her desk.

Ron stuck his hand in the air and gave a small wave, while he felt his face reddening. Blimey, he hated when that happened. Yet another reason for ridicule: _'__ey__, look at the blushing princess'_. At least, that's how it had gone down at Worcester.

"Um, hi…everyone, Ron."

"Class.." Mrs. Davies tapped her blackboard with the back of her hand, her wedding ring bouncing against it.

"She's just doing that so everyone would stop saying she'd never find a bloke stupid enough to marry her, you know?" Ron turned to where the sound was coming from and looked right into some of the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. The girl sitting next to him was nothing short of gorgeous : blond hair, blue eyes and two daisies for earrings, piercing her delicate ears. "I'm Lavender Brown." She smiled.

He nodded. "r – Ron Weasley."

"Auch. Better not tell everyone your last name, eh? 'Specially not that guy." Ron followed her gaze to where a young boy was sitting, looking extremely up himself. "That's Draco. He might use it against you. He's alright, though…we're friends."

Ron mentally banged his head on the tabletop. _Say it __ain't__ so._ How on EARTH could he be expecting to become friends with the most gorgeous girl, if she'd already befriended 'the bully'? "Oh," he mumbled, "right then."

"I could show you around if you want to?" Her pretty eyes danced in their sockets. "You know, introduce you to everyone?"

_'Specially bully over there._

"That'd be nice, thanks."

-

So here he was, befriending the popular gang. Lavender had introduced him, alright. Introduced him to her posh girlfriends and idiot mates. Yet, for some reason, it felt oddly cool to be on the other side of the tracks for once. Sure, they'd laughed at him when he'd spilled his drink all over his pants and they'd been downright mean when they'd pulled the chair from underneath his bum, but he was sitting with them, wasn't he?

But he felt her eyes boring into his back…he had been feeling them ever since he'd sat down next to Lavender and she'd started chatting with 'im. The 'loner' girl, sitting in the back of the class at all times, with no one to sit beside her. He felt kinda sorry for her, but –christ, how selfish had he become in the last few hours?- he didn't want to get on the bad side of the popular gang..

Might just ask about her…couldn't hurt, could it?

"So er-" Draco and his buddies stopped drawing faces on other faces and looked at him, annoyed that he'd interrupted their favorite pass-time, "who's that girl sitting in the back all the time?"

Lavender giggled. "Oh. That's Hermi-one." She tapped the table with her fork, cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows. "Boys?"

The boys sat up straight, put their hand over their heart and started to sing. _"__whowhowho__Hermiiiiione__Hermiiiione__, Why can't you be mine? __Whowhowho__Hermiiiione__Hermiiiione__, I'll love you for all __tiiiiiime__!!!"_

Ron heard a quiet sob behind him and the screeching of a chair being pulled back, and he turned his head, just in time to see Hermione snap her books closed and run from the cafeteria. He shook his head. Why did the popular gang always have to consist of jerks?

" 'Scuse me."

"Oh, Won-won, you're not running after her, are you?" _Won-won? __Er__- right._ The table looked at him with piercing eyes. One wrong move, Weasley, and you're dead. _Dee Ee Dee. Ded._

He shrugged. "Just going to the loo, that's all."

-

**Hermione –**

There was something about him. An oddness she had picked up straight from the start. He wasn't just a clumsy boy.. far from it! He was something special. Gifted.

She shook her head as she saw him melt into a puddle at the feet of Lovely Lavender Brown. She hated the girl so badly, it almost made her want to…cast a spell…upon her. Nobody would know it was her – really. She might as well be invisible to the whole bloody school.

And anyway, it would just be a whisper. Not even that. She'd almost perfected casting spells merely by thinking them. Nobody would know.

Except maybe they would. Whenever something went terribly wrong, accusing eyes always shot daggers at her. Hermione was non-existent to them, except when she could play the scapegoat. She silently thanked the ones who had banished the sacrificing of scapegoats all those decades ago.

So if Lavender Brown, school princess, would come to school one morning with a perfect porcelain skin, and leave it with a body covered with warts… Hm. Maybe she should figure out a more subtle plan.

I mean, Lavender Brown wasn't even nice to people! Yet they adored her, because she was just plain gorgeous. And it seemed that Ron had noticed too. Well, she would have to figure out another way to get to him, then. When he wasn't being surrounded by the popular crew, who –should she have expected anything else – started singing their Hermione song again at lunchtime. She wished she could be strong and just sit it out, keep eating her lunch and just blocked it out of her mind, even though the off-key sounds pierced her brain, but she couldn't…not today…Not when Ron was here.

So she fled, away from their eyes, and away from Ron's.

-

**Ron –**

He found her sitting on a bench outside, her books next to her and her backpack discarded on the green grass.

"Are they always like that to you?"

It amazed him that, entranced as she had seemed, she didn't even jump at the sound of his voice. Something told him she'd known he was coming all along. Which unnerved him a little, he had to confess.

"Pretty much. I guess I should have gotten used to it by now." She smiled at him and shoved her books to the side, creating a spot for him to sit, which he took. "So," she continued, "what do you think of East Lancester so far?"

He shrugged, not looking her in the eye. "'s Alright, I guess. Draco's an idiot."

She laughed. "You don't say?"

She had a pretty laugh, he noticed. Far more beautiful than Lavender's cackle. "You know," he said, "I've been bullied at my last…four…schools, so I kind of know what it's like."

Hermione shook her head in annoyance. "People just can't see the difference between being clumsy and being gifted."

Ron nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm the first."

"No, you're not." She smiled. "You are gifted, Ron, I could see it from the first moment I saw you." She eyed him. "Although I can tell it's going to take some work to make you see that."

"I see it now, Hermione. I. Am. Clumsy. I'm an idiot, I'm a fool – call me what you will, but don't you dare say I'm gifted, 'cause that's just a load of crap." He grinned. "A BIG load of it."

And with that, he stood up and left, her words haunting him all the way to the loo. _"You are gifted, Ron."_

What a load. What a monstrous load.

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_Please tell me you like it? O, please???? I live for reviews! Please review! (have I begged enough?)_

_XO_

_Oh, btw, there's a real Hermionesong on YouTube "A love song for Hermione" I think it's called. It's just soo funny...I mean, you'll fall off your chair, it's that funny ._

_XO_


	2. Chapter 2

**Ron –**

"Ron."

He smiled, not even needing to open his eyes to know who was there. "Oh, hi, Hermione."

School was out for the day and he had just sat on the stone wall surrounding the gardens, his face tilted upwards, taking in all the sun he could get. Not that he was hoping to get a tan or anything, his freckles ruled out the chances of that ever happening. He just enjoyed the feeling of the warmth on his face.

He could almost hear her blush. "Hi. Can I um… would you mind if I joined you?"

Ron shook his head and patted the stones next to his. "No, I… Go ahead. "

"Thanks." It was a soft whisper that escaped her lips. _Lord, she usually felt so strong, but now…_ "So, what are you still doing here? Hasn't school been out for um…" she checked her watch. "Thirty-five minutes? You don't look like the type to hang around school just for the fun of it or browse old books in the library.."

"That what you've been doing, then?" For the first time he looked at her, and was a bit shaken by the look in her eyes. She looked pretty vulnerable right then, and he wondered if she was frightened by him. He cleared his mind of that idea the minute it popped in there. He was a clutz, not someone you're scared of.

She breathed in deeply. "Yes. Just your average bookworm…" She let out a nervous laugh, but Ron didn't join her, knowing that she wasn't trying to be funny anyway. He thought that she must feel sad about it all, and if her behavior was any indication…he was right.

"Well," he shrugged. "I'm just sitting here enjoying the sun." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Well, that, and my mum was supposed to pick me up. Guess the car broke down again, or my little sister fell and bumped her head. _Again._"

**Hermione –**

_Now they were getting somewhere._ "Been a lot of bad luck in your family then?"

Ron shook his head sadly. "It's been bloody awful is what it's been. M' Dad's lost his job four times over the last three years, Mum's been sick for ages, and my brothers…" He swallowed hard. "Fred's been in an accident, you see? He's lost his legs, y'know, and things just have been so…tough. I mean, when the accident had just happened, we didn't even have enough money to buy his a stupid wheelchair." There was a faint glow of moisture in his eyes, and Hermione wondered whether or not he would mind if she put her hand over his, on the stone wall underneath their bums.

She would have, if only for a moment, but when she commanded her hand to move, he raised his own and rubbed underneath his eyes. "'m sorry."

"Don't mention it." She smiled. "I'll always be here for you."

"Thanks." He said. "You know, I think you're about the nicest person I've ever met."



Hermione opened her mouth to reply to that sweet statement, but her words were cut off by the sound of a horn blaring, followed by the rolling down of a window and the excited shouting of "Ron!"

He grinned. "That'll be Mum, then.." He tried to swiftly jump off of the wall, but nearly fell flat on his face. He turned to Hermione and gave her an embarrassed smile. "That's why I like sitting so much…"

Hermione smiled. "Right, see you tomorrow, Hermione."

She gave him a small wave and jumped off herself, strapped her bag on her shoulder and moved off, home.

-

"Jillian…?" Closing the door behind her, Hermione pushed the curtain of bangles apart and moved into the living room. "Are you here?" When only silence answered her, she shrugged and walked towards her bedroom, where she found Spacy purring on her pillow. She grinned and laid herself down next to the cat, softly stroking its fur. "Hello, honeybun. Miss me?"

Spacy closed her eyes contently and let out a soft meow. "Why, thank you for your enthusiasm, feline. I _was_ going to share my exciting news with you, but hey – if you don't want me to, suit yourself then."

Hermione stood up and walked towards her desk, eagerly pushing the on/off button of her laptop. She couldn't wait to get started.

**Ron –**

"So, mum, what exactly happened this time?"

Everybody at the dinner table fell silent and eagerly looked at their mother, who nervously cleared her throat and uttered a feigned "Nothing for you to be worried about, dearest."

Ron caught George's eye, but his brother just shrugged and continued to eat the pot roast they barely could afford to buy. "Mum-"

She raised her hand to silence him. "You know what your problem is, Ronald?"

Fred smiled. "He only has one?"

His mother clucked her tongue. "Hush, Fred. Your problem is that you want to know too much for your own good."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I just worry, is all."

"Don't. Now, how was school?" she dismissed him.

"It was good." His heart lifted when he thought of one particular person in it.

Later at night, he wondered if maybe he should feel weird that it wasn't Lavender's face that appeared in front of his eyes.

It was Hermione's.



**Hermione –**

It was two am that night when she found it. It almost made her want to shout out, but she was afraid to wake Jillian, who had gotten home a little over an hour ago and had checked on her, faking sleep under her covers, still wearing the same clothes she had worn to school.

Hermione thanked her good sense for reminding her to make her homework in the library after school, because she had gotten so caught up in all of this that it would have been forgotten. And what would teachers say, if Hermione Granger, first class A-student hadn't done her homework? They'd probably die of shock. She rolled her eyes. Playing this part was tiring.

When she had gotten home, she had logged online and searched for him. Anything about him, really… A small note about him on a website long forgotten, a drawing he had made in the third grade…when she found one of those, she had laughed out loud. It was the cutest thing she'd ever seen, with the little ladybugs and the bright sun shining.

It would be nearly eight hours later that she finally found something worth finding : a mystery surrounding his family tree. _Weasly, descending from the medieval clan "Weasletyne", 12__th__ century AD._ She had peered at it, turned it upside down, and finally she had seen. At the very base of his bloodline, there has been an wizard. A dark one.

"Oh my god," she whispered into the darkness, "he's been cursed."

_Okay, so I got absolutely zero reviews on the last chapter.. please let me know what you think of this one? Please? I'd give anything!!_

_X_


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